Alive
by PrettyRedX
Summary: He wanted to know what happened to her. She wasn't sure of the answer to that question. So she tried to remember... Oneshot/Songfic. Set After Season 7


She was at Winterfell, during a feast in honor of the new alliance between the Starks and the Targaryens. She couldn't believe that Jon was getting married to the Dragon Queen, she couldn't believe that her brother was actually her cousin… She couldn't believe that the Brotherhood, The Hound, Brianne and Tyrion Lannister were all in the same room without killing each other. She couldn't believe that Gendry was there too, that he was _alive_... She couldn't believe that _she_ was alive.

She was sitting in a dark corner of the great hall, nobody could see her but she was able to see every person in that room. _"Quiet as a shadow"_ , she remembered. This was a new habit of hers… making sure she knows everything about everybody in every place that she goes. Once she feels safe, she steps out of the shadows.

She was walking towards her brother's table when somebody called her name. She turned around and saw Gendry. She didn't say anything to him at first.

"Arya… Arya I'm sorry. I was such a stupid boy. I never should have left you. I know there is absolutely nothing I can say or do that shows you how truly sorry I am" Said Gendry with a voice that sounded wounded and honest. Arya just looked at him in the eyes.

"The moment I knew I was meeting your brother I practically jumped to help him, because I HAD to try to make up for what I did to you. I had to know if you were ok…" Said Gendry sadly. Arya was still not answering.

"Please Arya, talk to me. You are torturing me here! Ever since we got to Winterfell you haven't said two words to me… please Arya, talk to me! What happened to you?" Said Gendry with desperation in his voice.

Arya wanted to answer the question, but didn't know how. So she tried to remember…

 _ **I was born in a thunderstorm**_

 _ **I grew up overnight**_

 _ **I played alone**_

 _ **I played on my own**_

 _ **I survived**_

 _ **Hey**_

She remembered her days in King's Landing, where her father was killed. She remembered chasing cats and water dancing. She was far too young to see the things she saw. Too young to see her family murdered. She was alone and she survived.

 _ **I wanted everything I never had**_

 _ **Like the love that comes with light**_

 _ **I wore envy and I hated that**_

 _ **But I survived**_

Then she remembered Sansa. Her perfect sister, Sansa. How everybody wanted her to be like Sansa. Delicate, gentle, sweet… Arya was none of those things. She didn't want to be like her sister, but she wanted to be respected and admired, just like she was. She never liked feeling that way, so she decided to become something else. She survived.

 _ **I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go**_

 _ **Where the wind don't change**_

 _ **And nothing in the ground can ever grow**_

She remembered the coin Jaqen had given her. She remembered the wind in her face while she was on the ship in her way to Braavos. She hated Braavos.

 _ **No hope, just lies**_

 _ **And you're taught to cry into your pillow**_

 _ **But I survived**_

She remembered the House of Black and White… The game of lies and the loneliness she felt. But she survived.

 _ **I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing**_

 _ **I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

All the sudden she was blind again. She saw darkness again. She thought she had died. She was crying, she was desperate. Until she felt her chest going up and down… she was breathing.

 _ **I found solace in the strangest place**_

 _ **Way in the back of my mind**_

In the darkness of her eyes, she remembered her Father, Jon, Nymeria, Gendry. She needed to remember them.

 _ **I saw my life in a stranger's face**_

 _ **And it was mine**_

The game of faces. There was an entire hall filled with dead people's faces. She saw her face once, while she was training. It was a trick but she got the point "Valar Morghulis". She didn't want her face there. She was going to make sure of that

 _ **I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing**_

 _ **I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

She had to start begging for money and food. She was blind. She was weak. They made her fight in the darkness. They kicked her, punched her, punished her and stabbed her. But she was still breathing.

 _ **I have made every single mistake**_

 _ **That you could ever possibly make**_

She couldn't help making mistakes. She was a child, she was learning. She needed to cross names of her kill list. She had to. Even if those actions meant greater punishments. Even if those actions meant that she was going to end up in the hall of faces. Even if they decided to kill her. And they did.

 _ **I took and I took and I took what you gave**_

 _ **But you never noticed that I was in pain**_

The Waif didn't care if Arya was in pain or not. She just stabbed her multiple times and then she chased her, and then she fought against her.

 _ **I knew what I wanted; I went in and got it**_

She remember taking needle out and cutting the candle from her bedroom. She was better in the dark. She trained while she was blind after all.

 _ **Did all the things that you said that I wouldn't**_

She killed her. Arya killed the Waif and gave her face to Jaqen and the Many Faced Good.

 _ **I told you that I would never be forgotten**_

 _ **And all in spite of you**_

"A Girl is Arya Stark from Winterfell, and I'm going home" She could never forget who she was. That was impossible.

 _ **I'm alive (You took it all, but I'm still breathing)**_

 _ **(You took it all, but I'm still breathing)**_

 _ **I'm alive (You took it all, but I'm still breathing)**_

 _ **(You took it all, but I'm still breathing)**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

 _ **I'm alive**_

Then she was back at Winterfell and remembered everything else up until that moment. She was at the feast again. She looked at Gendry and decided to give him an answer to his question, the only answer she was sure of…

"I'm Alive" Said Arya.


End file.
